labor market

Large oil field, steel production capacity, or number of tractors produced do not make the company rich. The company grows rich thanks to skilled people in the right place, their excellent skills and ability to adapt to change. As Julian Simon used to say, the ultimate source of wealth is man.

Prior to the crisis triggered by the COVID-19 outbreak, the Lithuanian economy had been enjoying a rapid growth. Yet, while the number of available jobs had been increasing, the number of unemployed had remained steadily high.

Addressing and diminishing barriers to the single market in the EU is a much welcome initiative. The initiatives to decrease bureaucracy, to step up efforts to comply with EU law, to evaluate the effects of new regulations on SMEs in impact assessments, and mutual recognition are important steps in promoting growth, free trade, and consumer rights.

The European Commission (EC) has published a study on working conditions of platform workers. Platform work is understood as all labor provided through, on, or mediated by online platforms in a wide range of sectors.

The European Commission has proposed options for possible EU action addressing the challenges related to fair minimum wages in the EU. The initiative has a general objective to ensure that all workers in the EU are protected by fair minimum wages, allowing for a decent living wherever they work.

In light of COVID-19 governments around the globe are juggling between ensuring business liquidity and preserving workplaces. Most countries have taken the approach of increasing regulations and tailoring them to the topicalities.

Slovak large-scale employers want the highest possible wage compensation, looking up to the German or Austrian Kurzarbeit system, which covers up to 85% of wage costs. Journalists and some economists argue that we should borrow as much as we can.

Crises, particularly so severe as the one we are currently facing, have the inevitable habit of redefining the way our economic life works. The way people work, as well as the very labor market itself, will undergo significant changes.

For the third year in a row, the Lithuanian Free Market Institute and its partner organizations present the Employment Flexibility Index 2020 that ranks a total of 41 countries that are members of the European Union (EU) or the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).

The Slovak pension, education, and health systems and services should not depend on the government holding power at any given time. Instead, a fundamental political consensus is required. Better than calls from abroad for Slovakia to behave more rationally, the nation itself must come to its senses.